It is now my purpose to notice those alterations2 actually made in the form and spirit of the Christian3 church government. Necessarily my reference to these matters must be brief; sufficient only to demonstrate the fact for which I am contending in these chapters.
I am forced to admit that the description of the church organization in the New Testament4 is not all one could wish it to be. Only the faintest outline may be traced in those documents which all Christians5 accept as authority, and as they are fragmentary the description of the church contained in them is necessarily imperfect.
From what is written it appears that the quorum6 of the Twelve Apostles exercised a universal jurisdiction7 over the church, and a sort of primacy seems to be accorded to three of their number, Peter, James and John. Before the crucifixion Jesus also called into existence quorums of seventies to whom he gave similar powers to those bestowed8 upon the Twelve;[1] but for some reason, doubtless the imperfection of the Christian records, we can learn nothing more of them than is set down in the tenth chapter of Luke.
After the departure of the resurrected Messiah from his disciples9 at Bethany, the apostles, as fast as men were brought to faith and repentance10 through their preaching, organized in the various cities where they labored11 branches of the church, over which they appointed elders or bishops13 to preside;[2] and these evidently were assisted in their duties by deacons.[3] In an enumeration16 of the church officers given by Paul, we have other officers named besides apostles, prophets, seventies; viz., evangelists, pastors17 and teachers.[4]
It is difficult from the New Testament to determine the exact nature and full extent of the duties of these respective officers in the church, or their gradation. But that there was a prescribed duty to each officer, a limit to the authority of each, and a gradation among them, which made a harmonious18 whole—a complete ecclesiastical government, with all the parts properly adjusted and assigned their respective duties, there can be no question. For Paul likens the church of Christ to the body of a man, which, though it hath many members, yet is it one body; and all the members are necessary; one cannot say to the other, "I have no need of thee." So all these officers in the church, the apostle argues, are necessary; and as the head in the natural body cannot say to the foot, "I have no need of thee," neither in the church can the apostle say to the deacon, "I have no need of thee;" much less can the deacon say to the apostle, "I have no need of thee."[5] "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?" he asks. The implied answer is, No; but, as he elsewhere says, the whole body—i. e., the church—"is fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint20 supplieth."[6]
This organization as given by the Master had for its purpose the perfecting of the saints; the work of the ministry21; edifying22 the body of Christ; and to prevent the saints being carried about by every wind of doctrine23, by the sleight24 and cunning of men.[7] The apostle who thus specifies25 the purposes of the church organization also intimates that it was to be perpetuated26 until the saints all come to the "unity27 of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God—unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the fullness of the stature28 of Christ."[8] Furthermore, it is obvious that since the church organization was given for the purposes above enumerated29, so long as there are saints to be perfected, or a necessity for work in the ministry; so long as the church needs edifying or the saints guarding from heresy30, and the deceitfulness of false teachers—just so long will this organization of the church with apostles and prophets, seventies and elders, bishops and pastors, teachers and deacons be needed; and since the kinds of work enumerated in the foregoing will always be necessary, we arrive at the conclusion that the church organization as established by the apostles was designed to be perpetual.[9] But that it was not perpetuated is clearly demonstrated by writers of the second century, who, with the single exception of Clement31 of Alexandria, who calls Clement of Rome an "Apostle," recognize no other officers in the church than bishops, presbyters (elders) and deacons. It is difficult to account for the sudden loss of so many orders of officers in the church, unless, indeed, the apostasy32 for which I contend had made very great progress as early as the opening of the second century, which, I believe, was the case.
It appears from a statement of Clement of Rome[10] that persons selected by the apostles to be bishops, and after the death of the apostles those selected by other men of repute in the church, were submitted to the people for their approval, and this was the custom until the fourth century. It was also the custom of the bishops to employ the elders as a sort of council; and to call upon the people for their assent33 in the important matters of church government. In course of time, however, early in the fourth century, this respect for the principle of common consent was lost. The people were first altogether excluded from a voice in ecclesiastical affairs; and the next step was to deprive the elders of their former authority.[11] Thus power was centralized in the hands of the bishops, which enabled them to control everything at their discretion34, and paved the way for those abuses of power which bear evidence of the awful apostasy of the church.
So far as can be learned from the Christian annals, the churches that grew up under the preaching of the apostles recognized in that quorum a general presidency35 over all the churches established; and in fact seemed to regard each separate church as but a member of the one great household of faith. But after the death of the apostles, these several branches seem to be considered separate and independent organizations, united in faith and charity, it is true, but in nothing more. There is no evidence that there was such a thing as subordination among the churches, or rank among the bishops. As might be expected, however, there was a peculiar36 respect paid to the churches founded by the apostles. Those churches were appealed to in controversies37 on points of doctrine, as most likely to know what the apostles taught, but the appeal had no other significance. This equality of rank among the bishops, together with the simple form of church government, described above, was soon changed. The bishops who lived in cities, either by their own labors38 or those of the elders associated with them, raised up new churches in the adjacent villages and hamlets. The bishops of these rural districts being nominated and ordained39 by the bishops presiding in the cities, very naturally felt themselves under the protection and dependent upon the city bishops. This idea continued to grow until these bishops of "the suburbs and the fields" were looked upon as a distinct order of officers, possessing a dignity and authority above the elders, and yet subordinate to the bishops of the cities who, wherever they presided over bishops in outlying districts, soon came to be designated as archbishops.
Gradually, and perhaps almost imperceptibly, the church in the west in its government followed the civil divisions of the Roman empire. The bishop14 of the metropolis40 of a civil province, in time came to be regarded as having a general supervision41 of all the churches in that province, and soon it became the custom to style them metropolitans42.
The bishops of the great cities of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch, after the ascension of Constantine, were made to correspond to the four praetorian prefects created by Constantine in the civil government; and before the end of the fourth century received the title of patriarchs.[12] It is also said by Mosheim, though denied by other writers, that next to the patriarchs were bishops whose jurisdiction extended over several provinces and corresponded to the civil exarchs; next came the metropolitan43 bishops whose jurisdiction, as already stated, was limited to a single province, and corresponded to the governor of the provinces. The arch-bishops presided over a district including several bishoprics within a province; and lastly came the bishops of churches.
Concurrent44 with these changes arose the custom, first derived45 from the Greeks, of holding provincial46 councils. The bishops living in a single province met in council to confer upon mattes of common interest to their churches. At first the attending bishops looked upon themselves as merely the representatives of their respective churches, without further jurisdiction than to discuss and come to agreement on matters of common concern. But gradually they usurped47 the power to order by decree where at first they were wont48 to advise or entreat49. Nor was it long ere the decrees of these provincial councils were forced upon the respective churches as laws to be implicitly50 obeyed.
There was some resistance to this from the lower clergy51, but it was quickly overcome by the activity and ambition of the bishops, who were only too glad to escape the restraints imposed upon their movements by the doctrine of common consent. It is said also that as many changes occurred among the lower order of the clergy as among the bishops. The elders and deacons aping the conduct of their file leaders became too proud to attend to the humble52 duties of their offices, and hence a number of other officers were added to the church—subdeacons, acolythi, ostiarii, lectors, exorcists and copiatae[13]—while the elders and deacons spent much of their time in indolence and pleasure.
If the ambition of rival bishops distracted the church in the second and third centuries, much more did ambitious prelates—patriarchs and metropolitans—of the fourth and fifth centuries disturb its tranquility. They contended about the limits of their respective jurisdiction with all the bitterness of temporal kings seeking an enlargement of their dominions53. They made conquests and reprisals54 upon each other in much the same spirit, and at times were not above resorting to violence to attain55 their ends. It soon happened that the patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem sank below their fellow patriarchs of Rome and Constantinople in wealth and dignity. The prelates of these latter cities fiercely contended for the title of universal bishop; and in that contest the bishop of Constantinople was not always unsuccessful.
Over the protest of Leo the Great, in the fifth century, the council of Chalcedon decreed that the bishop of "New Rome" ought to enjoy the same honors and prerogatives56 with the pontiff of ancient Rome, on account of the equal rank and dignity of the two cities. In the following century, encouraged by past successes the bishop of "New Rome,"—John, surnamed the Faster, because of the austerity of his life, assembled a council of eastern bishops on his own account, to decide on charges brought against the patriarch of Antioch. It was on this occasion that he made such an assumption of the title of acumenical or universal bishop, that Gregory the Great supposed him to be aiming at a supremacy57 over all the Christian churches. In spite of the opposition58 of Gregory, the Faster, sustained by the emperor, continued to wear the title, though, it is said, not in the sense that Gregory supposed. The contest continued from this time forward with little interruption until that fatal schism59 came between the east and the west with which the reader has already been made acquainted.[14] The patriarchs of New Rome retained their hold upon the east; but the decay, moral and spiritual, which blighted60 those churches steadily61 went on, until at the last, Mohammedan civilization displaced Christian civilization. The crescent rose triumphantly62 above the cross, and the east sank into a settled gloom out of which it has not yet been able to rise.
In the west it was otherwise. There all was activity. The Roman pontiffs not only sent their missionaries63 to the barbarians64 to preach the supremacy of the popes, but the barbarians came to Rome. They came with arms in their hands and as conquerors65, it is true, and in the closing years of the fifth century obtained an easy victory over the western division of the empire. But if imperial Rome was vanquished66, there arose above its ruins papal Rome, in majesty67 no less splendid than that possessed68 by imperial Rome in her palmiest days; and in the course of time the victorious69 barbarians bowed in as humble submission70 to the wand of the popes, as their ancestors had to the eagle-mounted standard of the emperors. Moreover, the barbarous nations that fell under the influence of the Roman missionaries were accustomed to hold their priests in a superstitious71 reverence72. In portions of Western Europe the Druid priests had reigned73 over both people and magistrates75, controlling absolutely the jurisdiction of the latter; and, in the case of the supreme76 priest, according to some authorities,[15] the reverence of the barbarians amounted to worship. This reverence, on their conversion77 to Christianity, was readily transferred to the supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church; and made possible that spiritual and temporal despotism before which monarchs78 trembled and the world stood in abject79 fear.
Having traced the rise of the Church of Rome to this point, it yet remains80 to say that the corruption of her clergy and members kept pace with the developing splendor81 of the hierarchy82. The pride, ambition and wickedness which bishops and other ministers of the church practiced in the second and third centuries have already been pointed12 out, and at the same time it was suggested that in these matters there was not likely to be any improvement after ease and luxury—ever the panderers to immorality84—had increased the appetite for sensual pleasures and supplied the means of gratification.
Early in the history of the church the morality of the times not only excused but justified85 lying and deceit whenever it was supposed that the interests of religion could be promoted by it; and hence the existence of that mass of childish fable86 and falsehood respecting the infancy87 and youth of Messiah, and the wonder-working power of the relics88 of the saints and martyrs89 which has brought the Christian religion into contempt. Not even the greatest and most pious90 teachers of the first five or six centuries are free from this leprosy;[16] and if such characters as Ambrose, Hilary, Augustine, Gregory Nazianzen, and Jerome are not free from it, how much more may we expect to find it a vice91 with men of less reputation!
The attempt to live in a state of celibacy92 gave rise to many scandals in the church. Ambitious of a peculiar sanctity, the clergy began to abstain93 from marriage, but not from the pleasures supposed to be peculiar to the married state. It became the custom for the priests to live with "sub-introduced women," who "passed as sisters of the priests, the correctness of whose taste was often exemplified by the remarkable94 beauty of their sinful partners."[17] It is only fair to say that a law of Honorius condemned95 this practice, but it is to be feared that the only effect of the law upon those undertaking96 to live in the unnatural97 condition which celibacy imposes was merely to drive the practice from the public gaze.
Of all the writers who have given us a description of the moral condition of the church in the period of which I write, I think Salvian, who wrote about the middle of the fifth century, is the most vivid, and hence I quote in part his arraignment98:
"The very church which should be the body to appease99 the anger of God, alas100! what reigns101 there but disorders102 calculated to incense103 the Most High? It is more common to meet with Christians who are guilty of the greatest abominations than with those who are wholly exempt104 from crime. So that today it is a sort of sanctity among us to be less vicious than the generality of Christians. We insult the majesty of the Most High at the foot of his altars. Men, the most steeped in crime, enter the holy places without respect for them. True, all men ought to pay their vows105 to God, but why should they seek his temples to propitiate106 him, only to go forth107 to provoke him? Why enter the church to deplore108 their former sins, and upon going forth—what do I say?—in those very courts they commit fresh sins, their mouths and their hearts contradict one another. Their prayers are criminal meditations109 rather than vows of expiation110. Scarcely is service ended before each returns to his old practices. Some go to their wine, others to their impurities111, still others to robbing and brigandage112, so that we cannot doubt that these things had been occupying them while they were in the church. Nor is it the lowest of the people who are thus guilty. There is no rank whatever in the church which does not commit all sorts of crimes.
"It may be urged that we are better at heart than the barbarians who oppose us. Suppose this to be granted; we ought to be better than they. But as a matter of fact, they are more virtuous113 than we. The mass of Christians are below the barbarians in probity114. True, all kinds of sins are found among them; but what one is not found among us? The several nations have their peculiar sin; the Saxons are cruel, the Franks perfidious115; the Gepidae inhuman116; the Huns lewd117. But we, having the law of God to restrain us, are given over to all these offenses118. Then, to confine ourselves to the single sin of swearing, can many be found among the faithful who have not the name of Jesus Christ constantly upon their lips in support of their perjuries119? This practice coming down from the higher to the lower classes, has so prevailed that Christians might be deemed pagans. This, although the law of God expressly forbids to take his name in vain. We read this law; but we do not practice it; as a consequence the pagans taunt120 us that we boast ourselves the sole possessors of God's laws and of the rules of truth and of what that law enjoins121. 'Christians, indeed, to the shame of Jesus Christ,' say they."[18]
In book VI. on The Providence122 of God, Salvian continues his arraignment: "We rush from the churches to the theatres, even in the midst of our perils123. In Carthage the theatres were thronged124 while the enemy were before the walls, and the cries of those perishing outside under the sword mingled125 with the shouts of the spectators in the circus. Nor are we better here in Gaul. Treves has been taken four times, and has only increased in wickedness under her misfortunes. The same state of things exists in Cologne—deplorable wickedness among young and old, low and high. The smaller cities have been blind and insensible to the dangers threatening, until they have overwhelmed them. It seems to be the destiny of the Roman empire to perish rather than reform; they must cease to be, in order to cease to be vicious. A part of the inhabitants of Treves, having escaped from the ruins, petitions the emperor for—what? A theatre, spectacles, public shows! A city which thrice overthrown126 could not correct itself, well deserved to suffer a fourth destruction. * * * Would that my voice might be heard by all Romans! I would cry: Let us all blush that today the only cities where impurity127 does not reign74 are those which have submitted to the barbarians. Think not, then, that they conquer and we yield by the simple force of nature. Rather let us admit that we succumb128 through dissoluteness of our morals, of which our calamities129 are the just punishment."
The moral condition of the church did not improve in the sixth nor the seventh century. It kept getting worse and worse until in the tenth century those writers most interested in upholding the purity of the church declare that this was an iron age, barren of all goodness; a leaden age, abounding130 in all wickedness; and a dark age, remarkable for the scarcity131 of writers and men of learning. Christ is represented as in a very deep sleep, the ship as covered with waves, and there were no disciples who by their cries might wake him, being themselves asleep.[19] "Infidel Malice," says Milner, "has with pleasure recorded the vices132 and crimes of the popes of this century. Nor is it my intention to attempt to palliate the account of their wickedness. It was as deep and atrocious as language can paint; nor can a reasonable man desire more authentic133 evidence of history than that which the records both of civil and ecclesiastical history afford concerning the corruption of the whole church."[20]
As already remarked, it is the contention134 of the Roman Catholic Church that from Peter to Leo XIII. there has been an uninterrupted line of bishops in the see of Rome who have held divine authority; who succeeded both to the divine authority and mission of St. Peter; with power to bind135 and loose on earth and in heaven; who were, in fact, the vicars of Christ on earth, presidents of the church universal.
It now becomes my duty to refute that claim and give further proof of the complete apostasy of the church by presenting the history of the popes for three hundred years, from the middle of the eighth to the middle of the eleventh century. I quote the sketch136 from Draper's Intellectual Development of Europe:
"On the death of Pope Paul I., who had attained137 the pontificate A. D. 757, the Duke of Nepi compelled some bishops to consecrate138 Constantine, one of his brothers, as pope; but more legitimate139 electors subsequently, A. D. 768, choosing Stephen IV., the usurper140 and his adherents141 were severely142 punished; the eyes of Constantine were put out; the tongue of Bishop Theodorus was amputated, and he was left in a dungeon143 to expire in the agonies of thirst. The nephews of Pope Adrian seized his successor, Pope Leo III., A. D. 795, in the street, and forcing him into a neighboring church, attempted to put out his eyes and cut out his tongue; at a later period this pontiff trying to suppress a conspiracy144 to depose145 him, Rome became a scene of rebellion, murder and conflagration146. His successor, Stephen V., A. D. 816, was ignominiously147 driven from the city; his successor, Paschal I., was accused of blinding and murdering two ecclesiastics148 in the Lateran Palace; it was necessary that imperial commissioners149 should investigate the matter, but the pope died, after having exculpated150 himself by oath before thirty bishops. John VIII., A. D. 872, unable to resist the Mohammedans, was compelled to pay them tribute; the Bishop of Naples, maintaining a secret alliance with them, received his share of the plunder151 they collected. Him John excommunicated, nor would he give him absolution unless he would betray the chief Mohammedans and assassinate152 others himself. There was an ecclesiastical conspiracy to murder the pope; some of the treasures of the church were seized; and the gate of St. Pancrazia was opened with false keys, to admit the Saracens into the city. Formosus, who had been engaged in these transactions, and excommunicated as a conspirator153 for the murder of John, was subsequently elected pope, A. D. 891; he was succeeded by Boniface VI., A. D. 896, who had been deposed154 from the diaconate, and again from the priesthood, for his immoral83 and lewd life. By Stephen VII., who followed, the dead body of Formosus was taken from the grave, clothed in papal habiliaments, propped155 up in a chair, tried before a council, and the preposterous156 and indecent scene completed by cutting off three of the fingers of the corpse157 and casting it into the Tiber; but Stephen himself was destined158 to exemplify how low the papacy had fallen; he was thrown into prison and strangled. In the course of five years from A. D. 896 to A. D. 900, five popes were consecrated159. Leo V., who succeeded in A. D. 904, was in less than two months thrown into prison by Christopher, one of his chaplains, who usurped his place, and who, in his turn, was shortly expelled from Rome by Sergius III., who, by the aid of a military force, seized the pontificate, A. D. 905. This man, according to the testimony160 of the times, lived in a criminal intercourse161 with the celebrated162 prostitute Theodora, who, with her daughters Marozia and Theodora, also prostitutes, exercised an extraordinary control over him. The love of Theodora was also shared by John X.: she gave him the first arch-bishopric of Ravenna, and then translated him to Rome, A. D. 915, as pope. John was not unsuited to the times; he organized a confederacy which perhaps prevented Rome from being captured by the Saracens, and the world was astonished and edified163 by the appearance of this warlike pontiff at the head of his troops. By the love of Theodora, as was said, he maintained himself in the papacy for fourteen years; by the intrigues164 and hatred165 of her daughter, Marozia, he was overthrown. She surprised him in the Lateran palace; killed his brother Peter before his face; threw him into prison, where he soon died, smothered166, as was asserted, with a pillow. After a short interval167 Marozia made her own son pope as John XI., A. D. 931. Many affirmed that Pope Sergius was his father, but she herself inclined to attribute him to her husband Alberic, whose brother Guido she subsequently married. Another of her sons, Alberic, so called from his supposed father, jealous of his brother John, cast him and his mother Marozia into prison. After a time Alberic's son was elected pope, A. D. 956; he assumed the title of John XII., the amorous168 Marozia thus having given a son and a grandson to the papacy. John was only nineteen years old when he thus became head of Christendom. His reign was characterized by the most shocking immoralities, so that the Emperor Otho I. was compelled by the German clergy to interfere169. A synod was summoned for his trial in the Church of St. Peter, before which it appeared that John had received bribes170 for the consecration171 of bishops, that he had ordained one who was but ten years old, and had performed that ceremony over another in a stable; he was charged with incest with one of his father's concubines, and with so many adulteries that the Lateran Palace had become a brothel; he put out the eyes of one ecclesiastic19 and castrated another, both dying in consequence of their injuries; he was given to drunkenness, gambling172, and the invocation of Jupiter and Venus. When cited to appear before the council, he sent word that 'he had gone out hunting;' and to the fathers who remonstrated173 with him, he threateningly remarked 'that Judas, as well as the other disciples, received from his master the power of binding174 and loosing, but that as soon as he proved traitor175 to the common cause, the only power he retained was that of binding his own neck.' Hereupon he was deposed, and Leo VIII. elected in his stead, A. D. 963; but subsequently getting the upper hand, he seized his antagonists176, cut off the hand of one, the nose, finger, tongue of others. His life was eventually brought to an end by the vengeance177 of a man whose wife he had seduced178.
"After such details it is almost needless to allude179 to the annals of succeeding popes; to relate that John XIII. was strangled in prison; that Boniface VII. imprisoned180 Benedict VII., and killed him by starvation; that John XIV. was secretly put to death in the dungeons181 of the castle of St. Angelo; that the corpse of Boniface was dragged by the populace through the streets. The sentiment of reverence for the sovereign pontiff, nay182, even of respect, had become extinct in Rome; throughout Europe the clergy were so shocked at the state of things that, in their indignation, they began to look with approbation183 on the intention of the Emperor Otho to take from the Italians their privilege of appointing the successor of St. Peter, and confine it to his own family. But his kinsman184, Gregory V., whom he placed on the pontifical185 throne, was very soon compelled by the Romans to fly; his excommunications and religious thunders were turned into derision by them; they were too well acquainted with the true nature of these terrors; they were living behind the scenes. A terrible punishment awaited the Anti-pope John XVI. Otho returned into Italy, seized him, put out his eyes, cut off his nose and tongue, and sent him through the streets mounted on an ass15, with his face to the tail, and a wine-bladder on his head. It seemed impossible that things could become worse; yet Rome had still to see Benedict IX., A. D. 1033, a boy of less than twelve years, raised to the apostolic throne. Of this pontiff, one of his successors, Victor III., declared that his life was so shameful186, so foul187, so execrable, that he shuddered188 to describe it. He ruled like a captain of a banditti rather than a prelate. The people at last, unable to bear his adulteries, homicides and abominations any longer, rose against him. In despair of maintaining his position, he put up the papacy to auction189. It was bought by a presbyter named John, who became Gregory V., A. D. 1045."
"More than a thousand years had elapsed since the birth of our Savior, and such was the condition of Rome. Well may the historian shut the annals of those times in disgust; well may the heart of the Christian sink within him at such a catalogue of hideous190 crime; well may he ask, Were these the viceregents of God upon earth—those who had truly reached that goal beyond which the last effort of human wickedness cannot pass?"[21]
Is it not difficult to reconcile one's mind to the thought that these men who ruled the Catholic Church for three centuries were the viceregents of God on earth? Or that through them a divine authority and a divine mission has been transmitted to later and happier times? To do so one would be under the necessity of maintaining that no amount of immorality, however infamous191, can possibly disqualify men from acting192 as God's representatives. And such a position would be contrary to all the evidence of scripture193, as well as revolting to sound reason.
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1
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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alterations
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| n.改动( alteration的名词复数 )；更改；变化；改变 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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quorum
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| n.法定人数 | |
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jurisdiction
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| n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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disciples
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| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
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repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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labored
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| adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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enumeration
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| n.计数，列举；细目；详表；点查 | |
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pastors
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| n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 ) | |
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harmonious
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| adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的 | |
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ecclesiastic
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| n.教士，基督教会；adj.神职者的，牧师的，教会的 | |
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joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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edifying
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| adj.有教训意味的，教训性的，有益的v.开导，启发( edify的现在分词 ) | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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sleight
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| n.技巧，花招 | |
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25
specifies
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| v.指定( specify的第三人称单数 )；详述；提出…的条件；使具有特性 | |
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perpetuated
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| vt.使永存（perpetuate的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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enumerated
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| v.列举，枚举，数( enumerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
heresy
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| n.异端邪说；异教 | |
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31
clement
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| adj.仁慈的；温和的 | |
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32
apostasy
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| n.背教，脱党 | |
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33
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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34
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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35
presidency
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| n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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36
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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37
controversies
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| 争论 | |
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38
labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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39
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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40
metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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41
supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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42
metropolitans
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| n.大都会的( metropolitan的名词复数 )；大城市的；中心地区的；正宗的 | |
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43
metropolitan
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| adj.大城市的，大都会的 | |
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44
concurrent
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| adj.同时发生的，一致的 | |
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45
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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46
provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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47
usurped
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| 篡夺，霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权 | |
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48
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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49
entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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50
implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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51
clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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52
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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53
dominions
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| 统治权( dominion的名词复数 )； 领土； 疆土； 版图 | |
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54
reprisals
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| n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 ) | |
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55
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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56
prerogatives
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| n.权利( prerogative的名词复数 )；特权；大主教法庭；总督委任组成的法庭 | |
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57
supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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58
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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59
schism
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| n.分派，派系，分裂 | |
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60
blighted
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| adj.枯萎的，摧毁的 | |
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61
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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62
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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63
missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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64
barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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66
vanquished
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| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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67
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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68
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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69
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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70
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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71
superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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72
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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73
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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74
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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75
magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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76
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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77
conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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78
monarchs
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| 君主，帝王( monarch的名词复数 ) | |
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79
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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80
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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81
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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82
hierarchy
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| n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层 | |
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83
immoral
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| adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的 | |
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84
immorality
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| n. 不道德, 无道义 | |
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85
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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86
fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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87
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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88
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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89
martyrs
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|
| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
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90
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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91
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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92
celibacy
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| n.独身(主义) | |
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93
abstain
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| v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免 | |
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94
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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95
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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96
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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97
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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98
arraignment
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| n.提问，传讯，责难 | |
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99
appease
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| v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足 | |
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100
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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101
reigns
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| n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期 | |
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102
disorders
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| n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调 | |
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103
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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104
exempt
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| adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者 | |
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105
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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106
propitiate
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| v.慰解，劝解 | |
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107
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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108
deplore
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| vt.哀叹，对...深感遗憾 | |
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109
meditations
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| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
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110
expiation
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| n.赎罪，补偿 | |
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111
impurities
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| 不纯( impurity的名词复数 )； 不洁； 淫秽； 杂质 | |
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112
brigandage
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| n.抢劫；盗窃；土匪；强盗 | |
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113
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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114
probity
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| n.刚直；廉洁，正直 | |
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115
perfidious
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| adj.不忠的，背信弃义的 | |
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116
inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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117
lewd
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| adj.淫荡的 | |
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118
offenses
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| n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势 | |
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119
perjuries
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| n.假誓，伪证，伪证罪( perjury的名词复数 ) | |
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120
taunt
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| n.辱骂，嘲弄；v.嘲弄 | |
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121
enjoins
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| v.命令( enjoin的第三人称单数 ) | |
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122
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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123
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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124
thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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125
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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126
overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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127
impurity
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| n.不洁，不纯，杂质 | |
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128
succumb
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| v.屈服，屈从；死 | |
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129
calamities
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| n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事 | |
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130
abounding
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| adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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131
scarcity
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| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
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132
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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133
authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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134
contention
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| n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张 | |
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135
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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136
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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137
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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138
consecrate
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| v.使圣化，奉…为神圣；尊崇；奉献 | |
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139
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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140
usurper
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| n. 篡夺者, 僭取者 | |
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141
adherents
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| n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙 | |
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142
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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143
dungeon
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| n.地牢，土牢 | |
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144
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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145
depose
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| vt.免职；宣誓作证 | |
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146
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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147
ignominiously
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| adv.耻辱地，屈辱地，丢脸地 | |
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148
ecclesiastics
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| n.神职者，教会，牧师( ecclesiastic的名词复数 ) | |
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149
commissioners
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| n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官 | |
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150
exculpated
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| v.开脱，使无罪( exculpate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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151
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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152
assassinate
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| vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤 | |
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153
conspirator
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| n.阴谋者，谋叛者 | |
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154
deposed
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| v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证 | |
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155
propped
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| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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156
preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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157
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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158
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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159
consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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160
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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161
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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162
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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163
edified
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| v.开导，启发( edify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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164
intrigues
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| n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心 | |
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165
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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166
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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167
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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168
amorous
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| adj.多情的；有关爱情的 | |
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169
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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170
bribes
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| n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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171
consecration
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| n.供献，奉献，献祭仪式 | |
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172
gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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173
remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
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174
binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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175
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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176
antagonists
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| 对立[对抗] 者，对手，敌手( antagonist的名词复数 )； 对抗肌； 对抗药 | |
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177
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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178
seduced
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| 诱奸( seduce的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷 | |
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179
allude
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| v.提及，暗指 | |
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180
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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181
dungeons
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| n.地牢( dungeon的名词复数 ) | |
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182
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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183
approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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184
kinsman
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| n.男亲属 | |
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185
pontifical
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| adj.自以为是的，武断的 | |
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186
shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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187
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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188
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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189
auction
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| n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖 | |
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190
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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191
infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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192
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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193
scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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